Bidi Rollers Dissatisfied With Working Conditions

Many bidi rollers in Bangladesh are dissatisfied with their conditions, reports the Daily Sun.

Eighty-four percent of participants in a study conducted by the Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP) indicated they want to change employment due to health hazards of the tobacco.

At the same time, 95 percent of the surveyed bidi workers expressed dissatisfaction with their wages while 61 percent complained about the workload.

The report, titled Study Report on Bidi Workers’ Livelihood in Tangail District-2023, was presented by DORP Deputy Executive Director Mohammad Zobair Hasan at the Jatiya Press Club in the Dhaka.

“We explored the common health hazards experienced by the participants and found that the majority of them suffered from cough and sneeze while 17.1 percent suffered from abdominal pain/swelling and chest pain or gas,” Zobair Hasan said.

Despite the reported concerns, 95 percent of survey participants indicated that they incurred no healthcare expenses over the past 12 months.